


Please don't ask me how i've been

by zeafters



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Denial of Feelings, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Luwoo, M/M, Occasional swearing, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, Self-Denial, Yukhei is whipped, but secretly, guys i think luwoo is my fav ship to write, jungwoo is also whipped, mutual crushing!!, nothing graphic!!, yukhei isnt a fuckboy after all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 14:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17045588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeafters/pseuds/zeafters
Summary: Yukhei pauses, then slowly smiles. He smiles a wide, puppy-like smile that squeezes Jungwoo's heart. It's one that he's seen only a few times before. (Not to further feed into the impossible notion that Jungwoo actually notices Yukhei, but he's smiled like this when he found out he got a 79% on a math test. And when he got first in line for the pizza lunch at the cafeteria.)





	Please don't ask me how i've been

   JUNGWOO STILL doesn't know why he agreed to meet with Yukhei at The Bike of all places to start their business project, but it was too late to change it now. He was already seated at a booth tucked into the corner of the niche burger place, waiting for his partner to arrive (five minutes late, that is).

   "Still waiting?" His server asks politely. Jungwoo grimaces inwardly at the sorry look on her face. _This isn't a date_ , he wants to say, but he ends up ordering some mac 'n' cheese sticks instead.

   A few seconds after the server leaves, Yukhei slides into the opposite side of the booth. He's wearing a rather well-fitted t-shirt with no jacket (note: it's November) and his hair looks deliberately disheveled. Something about his appearance makes the tips of Jungwoo's ears grow hot. He hates it.

   It's no secret that the school's resident bad boy was attractive as fuck, but Jungwoo had already made it clear to the rest of the student body that he was not interested. After all, imagine how much of a scandal it would be if student council president Kim Jungwoo had the hots for junior school burnout Wong Yukhei? He would never be able to live that down. You know, if he found him attractive. _If_.

   "Hey, sorry I'm late," the younger greets him. He offers an apologetic smile, lazy and lopsided. It's very different from his usual smiles (not that Jungwoo's noticed) and he's not sure how he feels about it.

   "It's fine, I wasn't waiting long."

   The server returns with Jungwoo's appetizer, then promptly leaves again to fetch Yukhei his sprite.

   "You can have some if you want." Jungwoo pushes the plate closer towards the centre of the table, but Yukhei simply shakes his head. His fringe moves a bit to the side when he does so and Jungwoo catches a glimpse of his swollen left eye. The younger immediately goes to fix his hair.

   "Your eye-"

   "Got into a fight," Yukhei replies all too quickly. "With, uh, someone from another school."

   Jungwoo doesn't press more on the matter, but, for some reason, he can't avoid the bitter taste erupting in his mouth. He bites on a mac 'n' cheese stick in hopes of getting rid of it.

   "So, uh, this project," Yukhei says. "You have any ideas?"

   Jungwoo quickly swallows his food then takes a sip of water. "Yeah, actually. I think the easiest approach would be to just start up a dog-walking service. Or maybe sell hot chocolate during lunches, you know? Since it's really cold and all."

   Yukhei nods slowly, "That sounds good."

 

 

 

 

   "Do _you_ have any ideas?"

   Yukhei glances up at Jungwoo and quickly starts to shake his head, but stops. He looks back down again.

   "Kind of, but... It's probably not that good anyway."

   Jungwoo ignores the weight suddenly being dropped onto his heart at those words and urges Yukhei to elaborate. It was strange to see him like this. Despite his poor work ethic, Yukhei was always one to express his - often irrelevant - opinions during class. He was also just a huge chatterbox in general.

   "Well, I just..." He starts.

   Jungwoo nods encouragingly.

   "I think.. Making or... Doing, I guess, something to help with alcoholism would be a pretty... Interesting challenge?"

   Jungwoo can't help but let his jaw drop. The boy immediately begins rambling ' _I'm sorry, it's stupid_ 's and ' _We don't have to_ 's. The weight on Jungwoo's heart grows heavier and heavier with every word and he's not so sure how much more he can take, so he cuts him right off without even thinking.

   "No! That's actually a super cool idea!" He says sincerely. "I just, I don't know, I wasn't really expecting that."

   Yukhei pauses, then slowly smiles. He smiles a wide, puppy-like smile that squeezes Jungwoo's heart. It's one that he's seen only a few times before. (Not to further feed into the impossible notion that Jungwoo actually notices Yukhei, but he's smiled like this when he found out he got a 79% on a math test. And once when he got first in line for the pizza lunch at the cafeteria.)

   "Really?" Yukhei asks excitedly.

   Jungwoo responds with an equally enthusiastic nod. "Yes, really! But, it'd also be pretty difficult to do."

   Yukhei sighs and leans back into his seat, a defeated expression replacing all traces of excitement from before. Jungwoo struggles to imagine that smile on his face again.

   "But we could still do something related to it?" He suggests. "We could do, like, for example, something to treat hangovers."

   Instantly, his partner beams again and leans over in his seat. He nearly knocks the sprite out of the server's hand when she returns.

   "Yeah! We could, like, make our own cures, or just disguise a prairie oyster in a bottle, and hand it out to some people before they go out to parties over the weekend! I could even be a test subject if we're gonna make our own!"

   Jungwoo finds himself enraptured in Yukhei's passionate blabbering, although he isn't exactly listening to the words themselves. He isn't even sure if it was the real Wong Yukhei sitting in front of him. It seems like he's talking to the ingenious product of Yukhei's talkativeness and Jungwoo's own brain instead. When was the last time the boy was ever so excited about school? It seems as if the bad boy was just full of surprises.

   Jungwoo hates to admit that he could listen to Yukhei talk forever.

 

//

 

   Yukhei had offered to walk Jungwoo home, although he lived a whole bus ride away from The Bike and Yukhei himself lived only a couple of streets behind the diner.

   "It's getting dark out," he had explained. Jungwoo didn't argue.

   The two walk side by side down Jungwoo's neighbourhood. Yukhei embraces the quietness around them. The wind blows hard against them and he's grateful that it's dark out, because Jungwoo might notice his black eye again. He certainly isn't grateful, however, for his carelessness when picking out an outfit this morning. What's the point of looking good if you're going to be freezing your ass off anyway? ~~Especially if the boy you're trying to impress doesn't even notice it.~~

   "You really surprised me today," Jungwoo says softly, breaking the silence.

   Yukhei chuckles, "Oh really?"

   "No-not in a bad way! And I certainly don't mean this to be as condescending as it sounds either, but I just never heard of you... Or seen you be so passionate about school. Like, ever."

   "Yeah, I know what you mean," Yukhei replies. He follows Jungwoo as they turn left onto his driveway.

   "I was just wondering this entire time why you were so interested in this project, and alcoholism of all things," the senior says as he steps onto his porch. His back is to the younger, so he doesn't notice it when Yukhei freezes in his tracks just as he was about to enter under the porch's light.

   "I hope it's not too invasive, and I totally understand if you don't want to answer, but why alcoholism specifically?"

   That's when it was Jungwoo's turn to freeze. That's when he turns around to face Yukhei and sees the black eye once more, through his thick locks and the darkness of the night. That's when he sees Yukhei, truly sees him for the first time that day. And he knows that what he's seeing is real, because the fearful look on the boy's face says it all.

   Jungwoo slowly makes his way back to Yukhei until only mere inches are left between them. When he doesn't show any sign of moving away, Jungwoo reaches up to brush the hair away from his face.

   That's when he sees the teardrops holding on desperately to the ends of Yukhei's lashes.

   "Yukhei," Jungwoo barely whispers.

   With a gulp, Yukhei carefully removes Jungwoo's hand, but the wind prevents his hair from falling back into place.

   "Goodnight, Jungwoo."

   That's when Yukhei walks away. And Jungwoo, being the absolute idiot he is, lets him.


End file.
